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Celtic have been handed a huge injury boost ahead of their upcoming Scottish League Cup semi-final.

What’s the latest?

In recent comments cited by the Daily Record, Stephen Welsh revealed that, despite being substituted due to a knock in Scotland U21’s 2-0 defeat to Belgium in midweek, he will be available for selection against St. Johnstone this weekend.

Speaking about his current condition, the centre-back said: “I’m fine. It was a knock when their player had a shot and followed through on us, but I just came off as a precaution. I’ll be fine for the weekend.

“You’re always worried when you feel a bit of pain, but luckily it wasn’t a twist or anything. It was just pure impact so I should be fine.”

Postecoglou will be buzzing

Considering the fact that Carl Starfelt is also an injury doubt for Saturday’s fixture, the news that Welsh looks set to be available for selection is sure to have left Ange Postecoglou buzzing, as, without being able to call upon the 21-year-old, the Bhoys boss would have been extremely short of options in the heart of his defence.

Not only that, but the academy graduate has proven over his five Scottish Premiership appearances this season that he is an extremely exciting prospect at Parkhead, with the £1.08m-rated man helping his side keep two clean sheets and providing one assist, as well as making an average of 1.2 interceptions, 0.8 tackles, 2.2 clearances and winning 6.2 duels per game.

These returns have seen the centre-back average a SofaScore match rating of 7.12, ranking him as Celtic’s joint 11th-best performer in the top flight of Scottish football so far this term.

As such, the news that Welsh will not be required to spend any time on the sidelines will undoubtedly provide Postecoglou with a huge boost ahead of Saturday’s fixture, as the 56-year-old will be desperate for a win in order to have a shot at picking up his first silverware as the Hoops boss.

In other news: Ange drops exciting behind the scenes update which is sure to have Celtic fans buzzing

Tottenham Hotspur could be a potential destination for Dejan Kulusevski this January…

What’s the word?

That’s according to Calciomercato, who claim Spurs could be keen on signing the 18-cap Swedish attacking midfielder in the winter transfer window if chairman Daniel Levy is prepared to pay for him.

The Lilywhites’ new sporting director Fabio Paratici was the man to sign Kulusevksi in Turin back in January 2020, costing the Italian giants around €35m (£30m) plus add-ons rising to €44m (£37.5m).

Spurs may face competition from Serie A rivals Fiorentina and Atalanta, however.

Sign him up

The 21-year-old dynamo, who is valued at £31.5m by Transfermarkt, has fallen out of favour under Massimiliano Allegri this campaign, having been restricted to just two starts from 15 appearances.

Undoubtedly, it’s been hard for him to get going this term, so a fresh start elsewhere may be beneficial to his career.

Last season, Kulusevski registered 14 direct goal contributions across 47 matches in all competitions and did so playing no fewer than seven different roles, via Transfermarkt.

That versatility in the final third makes him a potentially dream signing for Spurs boss Antonio Conte, who is yet to settle on a system in north London. Whether he needs a man in the middle or wingers out wide, the Juventus star can do both, so that’s an attractive prospect.

According to experienced Italian coach Pierpaolo Bisoli, Kulusevski has shades of Mohamed Salah about him, he once said:

“He has incredible physical strength. He reminds me of a young Salah for the way he shakes off opponents in the first ten metres,” the former Bologna and Cesena boss claimed.

Meanwhile, Manchester United superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, who played alongside the Swede last season, believes he’s a “great talent” with “great potential.”

Spurs’ biggest issues lie in the final third, where they have not registered a shot on target in nearly four hours of football, whilst no other team is averaging fewer shots (10.1) per game in the Premier League, not even those in the relegation zone.

Also lauded as “explosive” by former Aston Villa striker Marcus Allback, an average of 1.8 shots and 2.1 key passes per 90 minutes throughout his career makes him a very firm candidate to help solve Conte’s immediate woes.

Paratici must look to re-sign his former Juventus man this January.

AND in other news, Forget Emerson: Conte may already have his next Moses in £18m-rated Spurs “nightmare”…

MatériaMais Notícias

Martin Silva estava segurando o Corinthians, que vinha errando o alvo ataque após ataque. A vitória por 1 a 0 aconteceu graças a um gol de mão de Jô, atacante que incomodou bastante a defesa do Vasco durante o jogo. Eles tiveram boas notas na partida disputada em Itaquera:

CORINTHIANS

5,5
Cássio
Teve dificuldade nos chutes de longe, novamente espalmou para dentro da área e deu rebote. Por outro lado, Vasco ameaçou pouco.

6,0
Fagner
Nas poucas vezes em que foi ao ataque, criou uma boa jogado pelo lado e arriscou chute perigoso que passou perto do gol. Na defesa, tranquilo.

6,0
Balbuena
Vasco ameaçou mais com os chutes de longe, não conseguiu penetrar na zaga, que só precisou estar bem postada. Atuação sem ameaças.

6,0
Pablo
Mesma situação de Balbuena, bastou fazer o que melhor sabe fazer para impedir as ações mais incisivas do Vasco durante.

6,0
Guilherme Arana
Voltou, mas sentiu um pouco da falta de ritmo de jogo. Arriscou alguns cruzamentos, qualificou o passe e deu outra cara ao lado esquerdo.

6,0
Camacho
Deu qualidade à troca de passes no meio. Paciência necessária para um jogo difícil de ser resolvido. Na marcação não comprometeu.

5,5
Maycon
Um pouco abaixo do que costuma. Por vezes distraído, perdeu bolas fáceis e errou passes simples. Teve uma boa chance, mas desperdiçou.

4,5
Jadson
Mais uma atuação abaixo da crítica. Pouca movimentação, passes sem objetividade e uma oportunidade clara perdida no segundo tempo.

5,0
Rodriguinho
Perdeu chances claríssimas ainda no primeiro tempo. Apesar de dar sempre opção no ataque, deixou a desejar nas conclusões.

6,0
Romero
Jogou pelos dois lados do campo procurando achar seus espaços e ajudando na marcação. Quase marcou gol em desvio de cabeça.

6,5
Jô
Decidiu novamente. Com a mão, completou cruzamento de Marquinhos Gabriel e garantiu a vitória. Faltou usar Fair Play que já o beneficiou.

6,5
Marquinhos Gabriel
Entrou bem pelo lado esquerdo, deu mais opções de velocidade e participou ativamente do gol da vitória em cruzamento para Jô.

–
Giovanni Augusto
Entrou fim, pouco tem em campo.

5,5
Kazim
Também ficou pouco tempo em campo. Sem nota

6,5
Téc: Fábio Carille
Time teve domínio do jogo, criou oportunidades claras de gol e não aproveitou. Por outros métodos, acabou levando a vitória.

VASCO

6,5
Martin Silva
Foi seguro e fez grandes defesas, uma cara a cara com Rodriguinho e outra em que Escudero jogou contra o patrimônio.

4,5
Madson
Deu muitos espaços nas suas costas e não foi tão efetivo na frente. Foi envolvido de forma fácil por Marquinhos Gabriel no lance do gol.

5,0
Breno
Foi bem nos cortes das bolas aéreas na zaga. Porém, errou em algumas antecipações e em saídas de bola

5,0
Anderson Martins
Bem no combate mano a mano e fez bons desarmes. Vacilou no lance do gol ao marcar a bola e deixar Jô escapar para escorar com o braço

6,0
Ramon
Cumpriu bem o seu papel na marcação. Além disso, chegou bastante para apoiar o ataque e deu um chute perigoso que parou em Cássio

5,0
Jean
Muita força na marcação, mas peca em relação a saída de bola. Chegou atrasado na cobertura de Madson no lance do gol do Corinthians

4,0
Gilberto
Atuando como volante, teve pouco tempo em campo. Saiu ainda no começo do primeiro tempo machucado. Deu tempo de arriscar um chute

5,0
Wagner
Tentou aparecer para organizar o meio-campo, mas não teve muito sucesso. Cansou no segundo tempo e pouco fez.

6,5
Mateus Vital
Procurou bastante o jogo em alguns momentos. Com muita mobilidade, driblou e tentou encontrar espaços, e ainda arriscou chutes

6,5
Nenê
Fez uma boa partida, principalmente no primeiro tempo. Buscou organizar a equipe, enfiou bolas e deu chutes perigosos

4,5
Andrés Rios
Muito isolado na frente, pouco fez dentro de campo. Foi precipitado em alguns lances que poderiam ser perigosos para o Vasco

4,5
Escudero
Entrou na vaga do lesionado Gilberto como volante. Deixou o meio-campo sem pegada e ainda errou muitos passes

5,5
Paulinho
Entrou no segundo tempo e deu mais mobilidade ao ataque. Fez boa jogada na frente, limpou os marcadores, mas chutou fraco para o gol

4,5
Eder Luis
Entrou quando o Vasco já perdia por 1 a 0 no segundo tempo e pouco conseguiu fazer dentro de campo

5,5
Téc: Zé Ricardo
Sua equipe fez um bom primeiro tempo, de igual para igual. Porém, recuou muito na segunda etapa e pouco criou.

RelacionadasBrasileirãoNúmeros da Bola: Estatísticas de Corinthians 1×0 VascoBrasileirão17/09/2017BrasileirãoCorinthians perde chances, mas tem gol irregular validado e vence o VascoBrasileirão17/09/2017GrêmioGrêmio perde da Chapecoense em casa e vê Corinthians disparar na liderançaGrêmio17/09/2017

Liverpool suffered their first real setback in their chase for the Premier League title after picking up their first league defeat of the season in their recent match against West Ham United that saw Jurgen Klopp’s side lose 3-2 thanks to goals from Kurt Zouma, Pablo Fornals and an own goal from goalkeeper Alisson Becker.

One player that featured in the match that managed to get on the scoresheet to give the Reds some hope of grabbing a positive result off the substitutes bench was striker Divock Origi who replaced Diogo Jota after 76 minutes.

Opportunity knocks

The fact that Jota failed to register a shot on target against David Moyes’ side and the fact that fellow Liverpool striker Roberto Firmino is out for the next few weeks with a hamstring injury,  means it could be a great time for Klopp to give Origi a run in the team from the start rather than bringing him off the bench to get their season back on track after the current international break.

Liverpool signed Origi, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £60k-per-week according to Spotrac, back in the 2014 summer transfer window from French club LOSC Lille in a deal worth a reported fee of £10m before he eventually moved to the Merseyside club in 2015.

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Since then, the 26-year-old, who is currently valued at £10.8m according to Transfermarkt, has made a total of 164 appearances for the Reds across all competitions in which he has managed to score 38 goals and provide 16 assists in the process, showing that he does have a knack for scoring goals in him.

So far this season, the Belgian has managed to score three goals and provide two assists in seven appearances across all competitions but has had very little chance to shine in the Premier League, playing just two minutes of action prior to the West Ham clash.

Origi, who has been described as “unreal” by fellow Reds teammate Caoimhin Kelleher in the past, has also shown that he has the ability to pop up and score at critical moments for Liverpool such as the brace he bagged in their famous 4-0 win over Barcelona back in May 2019 and their last-gasp 1-0 win over Merseyside rivals Everton in December 2018.

Taking all of this into account, if Origi was given the chance to play consistently in the Premier League moving forward and start scoring regularly, we feel that he has the potential to push Liverpool closer to the title with his knack for scoring goals alongside the likes of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah.

It’s time for Klopp to forget about Jota and the injury-stricken Firmino and unleash his devastating Belgian dynamo instead. It could well solve the severe blow that the Brazilian suffered last week.

In other news: Forget Salah: £67.5m-rated beast making 3.3 key passes P/G has been “fabulous” for LFC – opinion

Ravi Bopara’s hopes of clinging to his Test place for the final Ashes encounter at The Oval faded further as he fell for 1 against Middlesex at Lord’s

Andrew McGlashan at Lord's12-Aug-2009
ScorecardAfter Ben Hilfenhaus and company, Tim Murtagh proved too much for Ravi Bopara•Getty ImagesRavi Bopara’s hopes of clinging to his Test place for the final Ashes encounter at The Oval faded further as he fell for 1 against Middlesex at Lord’s. Faced with a tricky 10 minute session before lunch on the second day, following a failure for England team-mate Alastair Cook, he couldn’t survive the session when he fenced outside off and offered a catch to second slip from his seventh ball.After spending the opening day in the field as Middlesex batted in sunshine, Bopara would have hoped for something similar when his turn came. Instead, the second morning was overcast and the ball swung, then to make matters worse he had that mini-session which top-order batsmen hate before a break.He nearly fell to his first delivery when he risked a single into the covers and Nick Compton couldn’t collect the ball cleanly. But the reprieve was short-lived when Tim Murtagh, who found movement with the new ball to take the four wickets to fall, got one to bounce a little and Bopara met it with an indeterminate poke. It was a dismissal straight out of the Ben Hilfenhaus notebook.James Whitaker, the England selector, was in attendance to witness Bopara’s latest failure to go alongside the 1 and 0 the No. 3 made at Headingley, which took his Ashes tally to 105 runs in four Tests. A score in this game appeared to be his last chance of salvation with the calls for change ringing in the selectors’ ears.Although Geoff Miller told Cricinfo that changes won’t be made just for the sake of it, Bopara has endured such a tortured period that it seems inconceivable he will bat at first drop next week. Runs here may only have clouded the issue and Alec Stewart, who averaged 43.56 in 20 Tests at No.3, said the break might be what Bopara needs.”Very few people come into a Test side and don’t get left out at some stage,” Stewart said. “In a way it can do you a little bit of good. You go back, you reassess, you learn what international cricket is about and then you come back a better and stronger player for it. If he is to be left out, it wouldn’t surprise me.”Even when he was getting his Test hundreds against the West Indies I said that he should have started off his career at No. 5 or 6. I see him as a middle order player at the moment with the ability to go up to No. 3,” he added. “Ravi will be a wonderful international cricketer. It’s tough playing against any international side. You’re playing against the very best and this is the first little hiccup of his career. If – and I underline the word if – he is left out, then he will go back to Essex and score his runs.”It was a miserable day for both Essex’s England batsmen. Cook was trapped half forward by one that swung back from Murtagh and departed for 4. Although his situation is not as dire as Bopara’s, Cook hasn’t set the world alight either in the Ashes barring his 95 at Lord’s. He top-scored with 30 in the first-innings demise at Headingley and made another 30 in the second dig, but being one of the senior batsmen in a struggling line-up he needs to pull his weight more.The Australia quicks have probed away outside off stump and exposed Cook’s technical flaws. He was twice dismissed pushing at swinging deliveries at Leeds having been pinned leg before three times earlier in the series.The double failure of the England players meant Essex went to lunch in trouble on 15 for 2 in reply to Middlesex’s 356. Gareth Berg’s 66, his third half century in three innings, had boosted the lower order before the final-wicket pair of Steven Finn and Alan Richardson secured a fourth batting point.The visitors’ position didn’t improve as Murtagh posed plenty of problems from the Nursery End. He made the ball shape away at John Maunders to take the outside edge to first slip and pinned Mark Pettini lbw when the Essex captain was caught on the crease. It was the basics of swing bowling, pitching the ball up on a good length – something else that England lacked at Headingley. For a while it looked like Bopara would get a second hit in the day.A break for rain meant Murtagh had time to recharge his batteries and kept going for 13-over spell up to tea. However, the Essex line-up found some resistance in the form of Matt Walker and James Foster to begin the rebuilding job after the failure of their Test pair.Foster was the aggressor post tea as he punched strongly off the back foot through the off side, while Walker watchfully negotiated the movement which noticeably diminished after the rain. Their stand had reached 75 when bad light, then heavy rain, forced an early close.

According to TEAMtalk, West Ham United, led by new head of recruitment Rob Newman, are now ‘contemplating a January bid’ for Hull City forward Keane Lewis-Potter.

The Lowdown: Newman era begins…

As confirmed by the club, West Ham have now begun a new era of transfers as they appoint former Manchester City scouting chief Newman to their new head of recruitment role.

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The 57-year-old comes with a glowing reputation from Eastlands and will oversee a Hammers restructuring in terms of their scouting and recruitment department.

Commenting on his new role, Newman spoke of the importance to sign players who fit West Ham perfectly and not just players who you think ‘he’s a great player for that team, he’s automatically going to make us a great team’ (whufc.com).

Now, it appears the Irons chief has set his sights on a new West Ham target.

The Latest: West Ham weighing January bid for Lewis-Potter…

As per TEAMtalk, West Ham, and by extension Newman, now want to sign Hull forward Lewis-Potter after his ‘impressive rise’ over the last two seasons.

The 20-year-old, scoring 20 goals and supplying 10 assists in 85 appearances for the Tigers since his senior debut in late 2019, is now attracting the Irons’ attention as they weigh a January bid.

One of the Championship’s top starlets, he has become a fixture in Grant McCann’s first team and it is believed West Ham are keeping tabs after they also snapped up another one of Hull’s rising talents in Jarrod Bowen.

The latter man has gone to become a mainstay for Moyes and now it appears West Ham have set their sights on another starlet from the MKM Stadium.

The Verdict: Get it done?

Lewis-Potter has described himself as ‘raw’ when speaking to Hull City’s official website, and going by his impressive performances over the last two seasons, he could be a real coup for West Ham.

If he can follow in the footsteps of Bowen, who has been one of Moyes’ standout performers this season, it’s safe to say Newman’s tenure as new head of recruitment wouldn’t get off to the worst start.

In other news: ‘Perfect’, ‘I would cry’…Many West Ham fans erupt as talks held for ‘incredible signing’, find out more here.

MatériaMais Notícias

Promovido ao elenco profissional do Corinthians após o bom desempenho na Copa São Paulo de Juniores em janeiro deste ano, o meia-atacante Pedrinho ainda cultiva hábitos de um jovem comum apesar do estrelato. Aos 19 anos, ele marcou o primeiro gol pelo time do técnico Fábio Carille nesta quarta-feira, na vitória por 2 a 0 diante do Patriotas pela Copa Sul-Americana, e comemorou em uma badalada… lanchonete da capital paulista.

-Fui no Burger King (risos). É perto da minha casa, estava cansado, com fome – brincou o jogador do Corinthians poucas horas após viralizar na internet por conta de uma foto postada por seu empresário na internet comendo um hambúrguer e tomando refrigerante depois de marcar o primeiro gol pelo Timão.

Pedrinho concedeu entrevista coletiva nesta quinta-feira ao lado do zagueiro Pedro Henrique, que não deixou barato e provocou: “Tem Outback, Paris 6, e você vai comemorar o gol no Burger King?”. A promessa corintiana respondeu.

– O que vocês têm contra lá? (risos) Fui lá porque é perto de casa.Para mim, independente do lugar, sempre vim de uma família humilde, o que importa é a gente estar comendo. Esse aqui (Pedro Henrique) estava comendo coxinha na esquina até outro dia – completou Pedrinho, diante do ataque de risos do companheiro.

continua após a publicidade

Pedrinho, 19 anos, multa rescisória de R$ 200 milhões, maior promessa recente do Corinthians. Comemora o primeiro gol no BK. Respeito. pic.twitter.com/wuR1j9JSx6

— Gabriel Carneiro (@gabe_carneiro) July 27, 2017

Pedrinho já soma 14 partidas com a camisa do Corinthians, sendo apenas três como titular. O primeiro gol saiu somente nesta quarta-feira, mas o jogador já é alvo de forte expectativa em razão dos cuidados especiais que a comissão técnica do clube tem a respeito do porte físico do jogador. Em alta com a torcida, o camisa 38 (20 na Copa Sul-Americana) explicou o jogador.

-Por conta da minha parte física eu sinto algumas jogadas que exigem muita força, porque o time do Corinthians independente de ser zagueiro ou atacante tem que marcar da mesma forte. Eu senti um pouco nisso e estou sendo lapidado para cumprir a função bem.Eu tenho cabeça boa, sei que a comissão técnica está fazendo o certo para me lapidar, professor Carille está me colocando na hora certa, e Jadson e Rodriguinho, que são os titulares da minha posição, fazem um trabalho excelente. Tenho que respeitar.

Tudo sobre

CorinthiansPedrinho

West Bromwich Albion manager Valerien Ismael must offer Sam Johnstone a significant pay rise in order to keep the goalkeeper at The Hawthorns.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by the Express & Star journalist Luke Hatfield, who stated in a recent interview with GIVEMESPORT that the only way West Brom will be able to convince the England international to put pen to paper on a new deal with the Championship side is to substantially increase his reported £30k-per-week salary.

In the interview, Hatfield said: “The club are in talks with him. It was an unfortunate situation for Sam, dropping out of the Premier League.

“It’s an interesting one for Sam because he could either play out his contract and get a free move in the summer or maybe re-sign with Albion if they go up, or he could commit his future to his club and protect his value and maybe get a little bit of a wage bump.

“That’s the only way I can see him signing a new deal unless he’s very happy at the club. He’s still getting England call-ups as well.”

Ismael must act

Considering just how important a part of the West Brom team Johnstone has been in recent seasons, it would seem highly advisable for Ismael to offer the 28-year-old a new deal with a significant pay rise, as Hatfield suggests.

Indeed, despite the club’s relegation from the Premier League back in 2020/21, the £7.2m-rated ‘keeper nevertheless highly impressed over his 37 league appearances, keeping six clean sheets and making a rather extraordinary average of 4.5 saves per game.

These returns saw the shot-stopper earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.03, ranking him as West Brom’s second-best performer in the top flight.

And, while the former Manchester United man has not exactly been in the best form of his career over his ten Championship appearances so far this season, he has still managed to keep four clean sheets, save one penalty and average a SofaScore match rating of 6.88.

As such, losing the services of Johnstone in January would undoubtedly come as a major blow to Albion’s hopes of securing an immediate return to the Premier League this season, leading us to believe that Ismael indeed must do everything in his power to tie the 28-year-old down to a new deal in West Bromwich.

In other news: Ismael drops fresh update on “consistent” £4.4k-p/w ace, West Brom fans surely buzzing

Daniel Vettori has said India will adjust to New Zealand conditions much faster compared to their previous tour in 2002-03

Cricinfo staff19-Feb-2009
Daniel Vettori: “India will find conditions easier.” © Getty Images
Daniel Vettori, the New Zealand captain, has said India would adjust to New Zealand conditions much faster than on their previous tour in 2002-03, when batsmen from both sides suffered in bowler-friendly conditions. Vettori said pitches had eased up considerably over the last few years, allowing visiting teams to compile bigger scores.”The pitches here are quite different from the ones in the past. The conditions are no longer that difficult as they used to be for a visiting side,” Vettori told . “The tracks have become flatter. It is a much more even playing field. It would come down to the skill of the day. India will have no complaints on that count.”In 2002-03, India failed to cross 200 in either Test and lost the series 2-0. It was no different in the one-dayers which followed as India were comprehensively beaten 5-2.However, India are now playing in the second half of the summer and Vettori said the visitors can expect some respite. But acclimatising will still be a challenge.”The weather should be okay. We have had good rains throughout the summer but it will not be as cold,” Vettori said. “Still India will have to make some adjustments. Coming from… 40 degrees to a place of 18 degrees, it will require some adjustments.”As captain and frontline spinner, Vettori will be expected to play a much bigger part with the ball this time. In the previous tour, such was the domination of the seamers that he didn’t get to bowl a single over in either Test.”I bowl at a late stage but I know my primary responsibility is to take wickets,” he said. “I’m looking forward to bowling against the Indian team led by Dhoni, who is one of the best captains in the world at the moment.”Commenting on the Indian team, Vettori said their batsmen will pose a bigger threat, in particular the openers.”The key players I think are the two openers – Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir. Sehwag is very dangerous and Gambhir has done exceptionally well in the last couple of years. A lot will depend on how they perform in New Zealand conditions.”Vettori said his team, which is in transition, caused by sudden retirements is shaping up well. “Because of injuries and retirements in the last 18 months, we’ve got some good young players. They are exceptionally talented. I’m excited about the things coming through. I’m also looking forward to some players who have recovered from injuries.”India begin their tour on February 25 with the first of two Twenty20 internationals. They also play five ODIs and three Tests.

The agent of Donny van de Beek has revealed that he was in talks with Everton in regards to a move during the transfer window, but a switch was vetoed by Manchester United.

The Lowdown: Business done on final day

On the final day of the transfer window, the Toffees completed the signing of Salomon Rondon from Dalian Professional.

However, it seems that they also were interested in capturing the services of the £27m-valued Netherlands international (Transfermarkt) from the Red Devils.

The Latest: Van de Beek speaks to Toffees

Speaking to Ziggo Sport (via The Daily Express), Van de Beek’s representative Guido Albers revealed talks with the Merseyside club. He said:

“We took the initiative to find a club and our search ended up at Everton. We opened talks with Marcel Brands and Farhad Moshiri.

“On Monday night [before deadline day] we received a call from Solskjær and the club who told us that a transfer was out of the question and that he had to report himself to training the next morning.

“The perspective now is that we stated that Donny is not a Carabao Cup player, or FA Cup player, or to play only in European games.”

The Verdict: Crying shame

Although he made the move to Old Trafford from Ajax in September 2020 for a fee of £35m (BBC), Van de Beek has had to make do with a bit-part role at the club. He managed just 36 appearances in all competitions last season, the majority of which came from the bench, and he has yet to feature for a single minute in the current campaign (Transfermarkt).

He has often impressed whenever he has featured, though, with Owen Hargreaves calling him “close to perfect” after a match in the Champions League against Istanbul Basaksehir last autumn.

At Everton, you would have thought he would be close to a guaranteed starter under Rafael Benitez. While Ole Gunnar Solskjaer may eventually be ready to incorporate the midfielder into his plans, it feels like a transfer would have been the 24-year-old’s best chances of playing regularly, and he would have brought plenty of quality to Goodison Park judging by Hargreaves’ glowing praise.

In other news, Everton also wanted to sign this England international during the transfer window.